Promises
by daisherz365
Summary: Hotch needs someone to watch Jack while the team is off on another case but Jessica isn't able to do so. He can only think of one person. Lisey-Hailey's best friend. Hotch didn't expect to learn of promises Hailey made before she died. Mini Story. R&R
1. Chapter 1

Promises.

Summary: Hotch needs someone to watch Jack for a week while the team is away on a case out of state but Jessica isn't able to do so. He can only think of one person who he can actually trust to watch his son, especially during this week when the anniversary of his ex-wife's death rolls around; her friend, Lisey. What he didn't anticipate was learning of something that he didn't know before leaving on the case. How could learning that change things now?

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Criminal Minds. I only own this plot and Lisey (OC). So please don't steal.**

Aaron Hotchner was rushing through the house making sure he had everything he needed every since he made the phone call. He wasn't sure if it was the best decision he has made but it had to be done. He didn't have any time to pack Jack a bag and get him in the car to go with him.

He couldn't do that. He didn't want to do that. Jack had seen enough that day two years ago. Aaron continued to recheck his thing as he heard the doorbell ring. He ruffled Jack's hair as he passed him on the way to the door.

"Thank you so much for coming on such short notice." Aaron gave a small smile as he led the petite woman towards the kitchen where Jack was sitting drawing and eating his breakfast.

"It's no problem at all, Aaron. It's been awhile since I've spent some time with Jack. Hi, Jack."

Jack got up from his seat and came over to the woman and gave her a quick hug. "Hello." He smiled as he backed away from her. He looked over at his father before going back to his cereal.

"Maybe it's been a little too long." She laughed a little. "But I did promise Hailey that I…"

"You promised her something?" Aaron felt himself jolt at this news. She had never told him anything about Lisey and her having some sort of agreement.

"Um, just to take care of you and Jack. She never stopped loving you, Aaron. She loved Jack with all of her heart and I suppose she just wanted me to step in just in case you ever needed me. Like today. I don't really mind doing this more often. It's nice to still have this connection to her."

Aaron nodded in understanding as he watched the brunette look over at his son and smile. "We're going to have tons of fun so don't you worry about him. He'll be fine, you just worry about catching those bad guys. Okay?" She turned back to Aaron to make sure he was listening. She didn't want to have to worry about him calling a lot while he was on the case. She may not have talked to him a lot but she did care about this family. Hailey was like an extended part of her family and so was Aaron and Jack for that matter.

Aaron nodded before speaking. "Okay, I get it. I'll try not to call too much. But I'll try to keep it to once a day just to see how things are going. I'll see you when I get back."

"Give your daddy a hug, Jack." Lisey muttered as she ruffled his hair. He seemed to brighten up more when he realized that he needed to say goodbye to his father. He knew that Aaron was about to be off to save some more lives, and kick the bad guys.

"I'll miss you, Daddy." He muttered as Aaron gave him a firm squeeze after picking up in his arms.

"Miss you too, buddy. Have fun with Lisey okay?"

"I will." He smiled as he put him down and he scurried out of the room heading to the play room where his toys were.

Lisey laughed. "Go, before you miss your plane." She started to push Aaron out of the door. He just shook his head before grabbing his to go bag quickly and heading out the door.

He only hoped that he didn't make a mistake with this. He trusted Lisey to keep Jack's mind off of what happened. He was just worried he might have pushed her into this. But he couldn't worry about that right now. He needed to worry about this case. More lives needed to be saved.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: hello. ****J I'm glad that a couple were interested in this story. I hope you like this chapter as well. It's a short story so things won't happy so slowly. There will be one more chapter after this one. Anyway I'll stop you from reading more of my blah blah blah! Enjoy. -daisherz365**

**Promises.**

Chapter two;;

Lisey watched little Jack from the doorway of the playroom. He seemed pretty content at the moment. But she really wanted him to be more than content, she wanted him to be happy today. She knew how hard it was for him every time his dad was called away on a case. She had to deal with that herself when her dad was an agent and she was still living at home.

It was one of the things that Haley and her related with when Aaron and her friend got married. She would call and talk to her if Aaron was taking a long time to get home after a case. Lisey knew how much Aaron and Haley loved each other and how much in the end how much Haley still loved him even if his job cost her her life.

She never pointed fingers when it came to the death of her best friend. She knew how that was. Many times had her own life, and the life of her mother was on the line when a case ended up coming home with her dad. Many times serial killers came after them, and once she almost died. But she never pointed a finger. She knew that it came with their job.

"Would like to go out today, buddy?" Lisey crouched down besides Jack who was playing with two action figures.

"What would we do if we went out?" He had a small smile on his adorable face.

"Anything you want. We can go to the park or go to the fair that's just down the street? Anything you want to do, we can do."

"Anything?"

She nodded as she watched him, carefully. "What's the fair?" He asked as he directed his attention back to his action figures. One was a Captain America toy decked out in the full armor. The other was a military man. He would keep whacking the military man with the superhero.

He always loved his superheroes. His dad being his favorite, Haley often spoke about that often. There was always a tone of bitterness but she knew that there was much more love and recognition behind that.

"It's like a big amusement park like Six Flags. It has fun rides and games that you can play for prizes. It's always a lot of fun. Does that sound like fun to you, Jack?" She asked after a moment. She was now sitting down next to him.

"Yes." He nodded enthusiastically. Lisey laughed before getting to her feet. "Leaving now?" He asked as he stared up at her. Lisey nodded again and reached down for his hand he put his toys down and enveloped her hand in his as he stood up and began walking with her out of the room.

Lisey quickly picked up her small bag that had her car keys, wallet, and other things like first aid inside before they left the house and hopped in her car. She made sure Jack was strapped in the backseat before starting the engine and beginning the drive towards the fair. She had thought about walking since it wasn't that far away but she knew that walking back at night probably wasn't such a great idea.

A couple hours had passed since they first got there at the fair and Jack seemed to be enjoying himself quite a bit. He was smiling now while eating a corndog with mustard squeezed on it while Lisey sipped what was left of her coke.

There was much more people around than there was when she and Jack first got there but she wasn't too worried about losing her tiny companion. Jack had done great at sticking close to her and holding her hand when they were walking around. He was sitting close to her now while he ate.

Things were nice right now, she thought about calling Hotch just to rest his nerves about how things were going. But she knew there was a chance that he wouldn't answer. So she put that thought to rest.

"I'm finished." Jack said as he showed her the empty paper carton that had his corndog in it originally. "I see. Do you need to go to the bathroom before we walk around a little bit more?"

He nodded and she took the carton away and grabbed his hand as they hopped down from one of the benches. She tossed their trash away before following the signs that she had spotted earlier that directed them towards the bathrooms. There was only one that was used for everyone. It had five stalls and a changing tables for babies. There were a couple sinks along the walls.

"Go head." Lisey muttered as Jack spotted a vacant restroom. She leaned against the door as she waited for him to finish so that he could wash her hands.

There was a guy standing in front of one of the sinks looking at the mirror. But he seemed to be looking at her or maybe it was one of the other women who were posted against the stalls waiting on their companions. Some of them possibly kids.

"Can I help you?" One of the ladies that was next to her asked the man. He only looked down into the sink.

Lisey broke contact with the guy when she felt the push of the stall behind her. Jack was trying to get out. Lisey hadn't even noticed the flush of the toilet that came a couple seconds prior. She felt like something was off however.

This guy's behavior was strange to say the least.

She directed Jack over to one of the sinks that was furthest away from the man. She felt like she needed to be extra cautious. The next couple moments seemed to be right as the man turned around and shot a gun into the air.

"Everyone get down now!" Jack quickly latched onto Lisey as they got down on the floor. Lisey was afraid this was going to happen. But she needed to do something. She couldn't let Jack deal with this. He had experienced enough throughout his small lifetime. She wouldn't let it happen again.

She carefully while watching the man talk to some women who were beginning to protest took her phone out of her pocket and passed it to Jack. She began talking to him quickly. "I'm going to get you and the other children out of her. When I do, I want to call your dad. Just look for the name 'Aaron' in my phone and hit the little green button. Once you get a hold of him tell him that you need help. If he doesn't keep you on the phone I want you to call the police and tell them what's going on, okay?"

"Okay. Are you going to end up like mommy did?"

Lisey swallowed the bit of saliva that built up in her throat as she looked down at Jack. "I'm going to do everything I can to not but I can't promise you that I won't. He's a very bad guy. I just care that you're safe and unharmed. That's what I'm here for. I promised your mommy before she died that I would take care of you and your daddy. But mostly you, Jack. You're a great kid and you don't deserve to be another situation like this. Just do what I said and everything will be okay." She nodded as she squeezed his hand.

"You should let the kids go." Lisey turned towards the man as he returned back to the center of the room. "They don't belong here right now."

The man scoffed as pulled the trigger of the gun again. He turned in the opposite direction of where Lisey and Jack were. "The children are necessary. Police are more likely to come running when children are involved."

"Is that what you want? To be noticed?"

"Weren't you listening to what I was saying. Yes. No one paid attention to me. No one ever pays attention to me. This is the only way to be noticed. To hold a gun and shoot."

"You're an idiot." Another woman said as she stood up in the corner of the room. Before anyone else could say a word the gun was shot.

It hit the woman in the shoulder. "I'm not an idiot. I'm the man that's holding your life in my hands. It'd be in your best interest if you'd just shut your mouth lady." The woman clutched her shoulder as she crouched down to the floor. Lisey knew she needed to act now before it was a kid not another woman.

"Please let the children go. I know another way that you can bring attention to yourself. Just please, let them go." Lisey pleaded. She hadn't told a lie. She knew one other way. She just hoped that he would fall for this. Jack and the other kids needed to be let go.

"What way?" The man seemed to be thinking about what she said.

"I'll let you know once you let them go." She continued.

The man stood there pacing the room, contemplating his next move for the next ten minutes. But then he spoke. "Fine, all the kids can leave. Go!" He muttered when no one moved.

The women quickly muttered goodbyes to their children as Lisey looked at Jack. He was hugging her, tightly. "Go Jack. You need to be safe." He nodded as he gave her one last squeeze and ran out the door clutching the phone.

Jack went over to the police man who was standing not that far away as he exited the door. He didn't say anything yet, he called his dad first. He waited quietly, trying not to seem to panicked or scared. "Lisey, is everything okay?" Aaron asked through the phone.

"Daddy. Lisey needs help."

"Jack? What's going on? What's wrong with Lisey?"

"The man with the gun let me go. We came to the fair to have some fun. Lisey told me to call you and the police. Lisey's in the bathroom still with women and the man with the gun. Lisey needs help Daddy."

"We'll get help. Is there an officer nearby, Jack?"

Jack nodded. "Yes. You wanna talk to him?"

"Yes, hand him the phone."

Jack pulled on the officer's pants and once the man squatted down in front of him he gave the man the phone.


End file.
